Maia Song Contest 20

The Maia Song Contest 20 was the twentieth edition of the Maia Song Contest. It was held in Loafousia, following their win in the previous edition with Meg Myers and her song "Numb".

Bidding phase
ETL and the MBU announced the conditions under which cities and venues could announce their interest in hosting the contest.


 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must be available for the rehearsal period before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Semi-final allocations
Countries were allocated to semi-finals using pots based off of the voting patterns of the votes from the fourteenth, fifteenth and eighteenth editions.

Despite not being counted as being in any pot, the automatically qualified nations are still assigned a pot based off of their voting history.


 * , and  would be in Pot A.
 * and would be in Pot B.
 * would be in Pot C.

Semi Final 1
Playlist available here. Recap available here.

Scoreboard available here.

, and  voted in this semi-final.

Semi Final 2
Playlist available here. Recap is here.

Scorewiz available here.

, and  voted in this semi-final.

Grand Final
Playlist available here. Recap available here.

Full scoreboard available here. Scorewiz available here.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Maia Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active MBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. The MBU will issue an invitation of participation in the contest to all active members.

Active MBU countries

 * - After months of speculation that the 20th edition would be Arkaystia's last, the broadcaster stated it would be "likely" the country would compete after a nineteenth straight final appearance the edition before. It is believed that M2 has yet to renew it's broadcasting rights with the MBU to compete beyond this edition. M2 was given the green light to compete in the 20th edition following the results of the previous edition.
 * - On 12 July 2018, BTV-Øén released a joint statement explaining that they had successfully gained government approval for a national boycott of the contest. A cabinet spokesperson, when asked for comment, stated that the country "would not be competing in the twentieth edition due to an increasingly arbitrary level of bureaucracy in the contest", adding "the MBU is not fit for purpose".
 * - The country initially publicly announced Bebe Rexha's "I'm A Mess" as their entry, however due to a spat with the MBU over artists, FBI rescinded their participation in the edition.
 * - Despite initially applying to be apart of the twentieth edition, the country failed to deliver a song within the deadline.
 * - Due to an unsuccessful result in the previous edition, Lussantia's participation in the twentieth edition has been speculated to be in jeopardy. However, on 9 July 2018, the country confirmed its participation.
 * - After previously failing to vote in the nineteenth edition, NPM published a statement in relation to their withdrawal from the competition for the edition.
 * - On 11 July 2018, Urtistan informed the MBU of its withdrawal, with no confirmed potential return date, leaving their status on the roster uncertain. On 14th July, UPV has confirmed that they would be restructuring, as well as shifting focus towards local programming. Their return would be considered in the future, but due to a broadcast incident, the chances are "very unlikely".
 * - The nation failed to confirm its participation in the contest for the second time in a row, resulting in the country's removal from the roster.